New Jersey settles stun gun ban lawsuit

New Jersey has settled a lawsuit that would end the state’s ban on civilians buying stun guns.

Under a consent decree approved by a federal judge on Tuesday, Attorney General Christopher Porrino conceded the state’s ban on electronic arms is unconstitutional. The state law defines a stun gun as “any weapon or other device which emits an electrical charge or current intended to temporarily or permanently disable a person.”

Regulations permit police officers in New Jersey to use stun guns.

Resident Mark Cheeseman and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society filed suit in August 2016 after Taser International declined his order for a Taser Pulse model because the state bans the sale of such merchandise. Cheeseman said he wanted a nonlethal way to protect himself and his family.

New Jersey was one of five states — Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island are the others — that prohibited civilians from buying stun guns. Other cities and counties also have bans.